This arugula, avocado, and tomato salad is refreshing and goes with nearly anything! Completed with pecans and tossed with a lemon, mustard, herb, and olive oil dressing, I generally bring this salad to the dinner table most evenings. Enjoy it with fresh bread, grilled chicken, salmon, and much more!

Arugula, Avocado, and Tomato Salad (with Nuts and a Mustard Vinaigrette) served in a large white serving bowl

Ingredients to Assemble

To make this salad, you’ll first need the following:

Ingredients for the salad on a wooden board.

Avocado – 1 large avocado
Tomatoes – 8 oz (225 grams) cherry tomatoes
Arugula – 3 oz (85 grams) arugula (rocket)
Pecans – 1/2 cup pecans
Lemon – 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about half a lemon) and (optionally) the zest from the lemon
Mustard – 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Oregano – 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Olive Oil – 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt – a pinch of salt
Pepper – a pinch of pepper

These ingredients will make about 4 portions if serving this as a side salad or 2 salads if serving them as a main with some bread.

Ingredient Notes

Pecans – You can easily substitute these with your favorite nuts. Walnuts come closest in flavor profile to pecans. But you can also use other nuts like hazelnuts, sliced almonds, or pistachios. You can also use seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. The nuts and seeds add a needed element of crunch to the salad. If you’re just looking to add crunch, you could also use croutons.

Toasting the nuts: to enhance the flavor of the nuts, toast them and cool them down before adding them to the salad. To toast them, simply put a dry pan over medium heat, and add the nuts to the pan, toasting them for a few minutes and tossing them occasionally so they don’t burn.

Tomatoes – You can also use other tomatoes like grape tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine, or heirloom tomatoes. Make sure the tomatoes you’re using are flavorful! The tomatoes can make all the difference in this salad. Avoid using watery tasteless tomatoes as those won’t work well in this recipe.

Lemon – Instead of lemon, you could also use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Oregano – Instead of dried oregano, you could use dried marjoram, dried Italian seasoning, or dried Herbes de Provence (the same quantity as the dried oregano called for in the recipe). You could also use fresh herbs instead like fresh oregano, fresh parsley, or fresh thyme. If using fresh herbs like oregano, parsley, or thyme, use about 1 and 1/2 tsp of chopped fresh herbs.

Mustard – Instead of Dijon mustard, you could also use honey mustard (which will add a touch of pleasant sweetness).

Easy Steps to Make it

Step 1. Make the salad dressing by whisking together the mustard, lemon juice, (optional) lemon zest, dried oregano, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and olive oil.

Note: if you don’t have a whisk, just add all these ingredients to a small jar with a lid, close it, and shake it well until everything is combined. Alternatively, you can also mix these ingredients with a fork in the bowl.

Salad dressing whisked in a large glass bowl.

Step 2. Add the cherry tomatoes (halved) to the bowl with the salad dressing and then add the chopped avocado, (optionally toasted) chopped pecans, and arugula.

Adding the tomatoes to the bowl with the salad dressing.

Adding the avocado, arugula, and chopped nuts to the mixing bowl.

Step 3. Just before serving, toss everything together.

Note: I like to use a silicone/rubber spatula to get to the bottom of the bowl and make sure I get all the salad dressing integrated into the salad.

Mixing / tossing the salad with the dressing.

Once mixed, serve it in a salad serving bowl. If you want to keep things light, you can eat it as is with some fresh bread. As a side, there are so many dishes you can enjoy this with.

Arugula, Avocado, and Tomato Salad served in a large white serving bowl

What to Serve it With

Typically, when meal planning, I try to find ways to bring a carb, a protein, and some veggies on the plate together. That’s why I love making this salad, because not only is it quick, it’s light, sweet, and zesty, so can complement meats and heartier carbs easily.

You can serve this salad alongside grilled or roasted chicken, grilled or oven-baked salmon, burgers or paninis. I particularly like it with roast chicken leg quarters and parmesan potatoes (recipe upcoming, pictured below).

Arugula, Avocado, and Tomato Salad served alongside roast chicken leg quarters and parmesan potatoes.

This can also add a lot of freshness and color to real comfort foods, like these chicken meatballs with mashed potatoes.

That zesty dressing really brings the peppery arugula, sweet tomatoes, and creamy avocado together. Then, the pecans add a welcome crunch.

Whether you enjoy it as a light lunch, or as a side to another dish, I’d love to know in the comments if you loved it and how you served it.

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